Vin Diesel: 10 reasons we love the action star

There's a lot about Mark Sinclair Vincent that would probably surprise you, like how he got his first acting job, and the fact that he has two young kids. But the fact that he defies expectations is one of the reasons we love Vin Diesel so much. In honor of the "Riddick" actor's birthday on July 18, we've listed 10 things we think you'll love, too.

Many actors change their legal name, so no surprise there. But we love that Mark Sinclair Vincent actually became Vin Diesel when he was a bouncer working at Tunnel, a popular New York nightclub. Bouncers don't often go by their real names, so Mark chose Vin, a shortened version of Vincent, and Diesel, which was a nickname his friends gave him. With his nonstop energy, they say it seemed like Vin ran off diesel fuel.

There's a lot about Mark Sinclair Vincent that would probably surprise you, like how he got his first acting job, and the fact that he has two young kids. But the fact that he defies expectations is one of the reasons we love Vin Diesel so much. In honor of the "Riddick" actor's birthday on July 18, we've listed 10 things we think you'll love, too.

Many actors change their legal name, so no surprise there. But we love that Mark Sinclair Vincent actually became Vin Diesel when he was a bouncer working at Tunnel, a popular New York nightclub. Bouncers don't often go by their real names, so Mark chose Vin, a shortened version of Vincent, and Diesel, which was a nickname his friends gave him. With his nonstop energy, they say it seemed like Vin ran off diesel fuel.